As a farmer, you’re a growth expert. You can turn seeds into delicious produce, coax a bountiful harvest from even the poorest of soil, and take livestock from scrawny to hefty.
But for financial success, you also need to become an expert in growing your customer base.
That’s why we’ve created this quick guide to one of the most effective sales-boosting techniques for farmers: grassroots marketing. Keep reading to learn what grassroots marketing is, why you should try it, and five simple strategies to start with.
Grassroots marketing is a way to build genuine, lasting relationships with a curated, dedicated group of customers.
Rather than aiming to generate as many website views as possible or bring a huge wave of shoppers through your farm store door, grassroots marketing lets you focus on connecting with your community, building their trust, and educating them about the value of local farms like yours.
Grassroots marketing is a particularly effective approach for small family farms because it helps you nurture a small but loyal base of customers who trust you to stock their refrigerators and freezers with fresh, sustainable-produced meats and produce.
We’ve covered why grassroots marketing is a solid strategy for your farm. Now, let’s talk about how to do it. Here are five simple ways to cultivate connections with your customers and community.
Your potential customers spend over two hours scrolling social media every day — making it one of the best places to meet them.
Investing time and effort into your farm’s social media presence can expand your reach and give community members a unique opportunity to learn more about your farm.
To get started with this grassroots marketing method, we recommend creating profiles on all the popular social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
From there, you can start creating and posting engaging content about your farm. Here are some post ideas to get you started:
Posting regularly on social media will help potential customers learn about you and your farm, encouraging them to interact and eventually make their first purchase.
Hoping to find enthusiastic farm fans? Consider offering a behind-the-scenes look at your operation.
There are two ways to let potential customers explore your farm.
First, you can offer in-person farm tours, where visitors can ask questions, explore your fields, meet your livestock, and get an up-close experience with farm life.
If in-person farm visits don’t sound doable, your other option is to offer a virtual farm tour. Brush up on your cinematography skills and film a short video to show off your land, explain your farming practices, and share some fun facts about your farm.
The best part of a video tour is that anyone can enjoy it, whether they live in your neighborhood or across the country.
Don’t forget about grassroots marketing principles when it’s time to design your farm e-commerce website.
Instead of simply listing products for sale, take the time to add personal touches to your online farm store to help customers understand and trust your brand.
For example, you might create a thorough “About Us” page that features your family farm story, photos of you and your teammates, and detailed information about your farming practices and values.
We also recommend including high-quality photos and videos throughout your site to make it more engaging.
Pro Tip: Creating a well-designed online farm store might seem daunting, but the right e-commerce platform should make it a breeze. Look for one with an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop website builder.
A critical aspect of grassroots marketing is nurturing an ongoing, long-term relationship with your farm’s customers. That’s why we recommend launching a regular email newsletter to stay in touch with them.
Your email newsletter should keep customers up to date on everything happening on your farm — from recent harvests to upcoming promotions. It should also encourage readers to place an order from your farm to take advantage of seasonal products, exclusive discounts, and more.
The easiest way to manage an email newsletter is to choose a farm e-commerce platform with built-in customer management and marketing features. With this tool, you can collect and organize customers’ contact information, build your newsletters, and send them effortlessly.
Grassroots marketing is about setting your farm apart from the competition, so when it comes to your product offerings, we recommend focusing on unique products that customers can’t find anywhere else.
One of the best ways to highlight your farm-fresh goods and boost your sales is to offer subscription boxes. This lets customers try a wide range of your products and gives them a convenient way to keep their refrigerators and freezers stocked with high-quality meats and produce straight from the farm.
Offering subscription boxes might sound complicated, but all you need is a farm e-commerce platform designed to help you offer flexible subscription options and manage recurring deliveries.
That’s everything you need to know about designing an effective grassroots marketing plan for your farm!
Ready to put these strategies into action? Your next step is to invest in a powerful farm e-commerce tool with built-in marketing features. \
Along with robust inventory tracking, order management, and sales reporting features, GrazeCart offers all the tools you need to cultivate a dedicated customer base and nurture high profits — including a loyalty program, email marketing integration, flexible subscription options, and more.
Give GrazeCart a try by launching your free, two-week trial today.